MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Russian cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko passed away in Moscow at the age of 82 on Wednesday, a source in the rocket and space industry told TASS.

"He felt unwell recently spending the past two weeks in the Mandryka hospital where he died in the intensive care unit on Wednesday," the source said.

Viktor Gorbatko was born on December 3, 1934. In 1960, he joined the first cosmonaut training group. He travelled to outer space three times - in 1969, 1977 and 1980. In addition to that, in 1970, Gorbatko was one of the participants in the first ever chess game between Earth and a space crew, after which he became an honorary member of the Soviet Central Chess Club.